I am curious what some opinions are, regarding 'new'/'mint' condition coins and keeping them that way.
Casascius ships in a nice hard plastic coinholder, vacuum sealed in plastic with a tag identifying the lot/roll #. I am cautious to cut open this plastic, as part of me beleives that an unopened roll of coins could hold more collectors value than the 20 beautiful coins in individual cases might. Is this reasonable, or would it make more sense to 'handle' the coins and transfer them to individual airtites?
Counter-point: in a brand-new sealed roll, the coin condition is unknown. I have full faith in Mike, but there is a small chance a coin is terribly deformed within the roll unbeknownst to the buyer or collector. By moving the coins to individual holders, each coin can be viewed or graded.
Any thoughts? Part of me beleives that the coins could fetch more attention or value individually (or as a set of 20 individually sealed coins), while the other half thinks that the original packaging could add significant value, as there are likely very few rolls still sealed in the original vacuum bag.
ps: i assume it may not be hard for someone to find the same style of vacuum-packaging and mimic this, unless there is something unique to Mike's methodology?
pps: to handle, gloves would of course be used.
Would love opinions from anyone who has dealt with these coins or has experience in numismatics collecting.
might be an issue to find a buyer where they can't see what they would be buying.
